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Ellen von Unwerth's universe: "In my heart, I am a badass girl"
Ellen von Unwerth (Frankfurt, 1954) photographs women as they are rarely captured: laughing, playing, free. From Paris, the German fashion and art photographer has built an oeuvre that blurs the boundaries between glamour, eroticism, and humor. Her images burst with energy and zest for life, showing that true strength emerges when control gives way to surrender. MASTERS spoke to her in the run-up to her exhibition in Maastricht.
Ellen von Unwerth is a name synonymous with playful, powerful, and uninhibited fashion photography. Her images, in which women dare to be themselves, have influenced the fashion world for decades and secured her a place among the greatest photographers of her time. Yet, her career did not begin as you might expect: without formal training and with a past as a model, she discovered her passion for photography by chance. “I just started with a camera I got from my boyfriend,” Von Unwerth explains. “I took photos of my friends and did documentary photography in Kenya while I was still a model. When I came back and saw the contact sheets, I thought: hey, this actually looks pretty good.” It was also during her time as a model that Von Unwerth learned what she did not want as a photographer. “As a model, I didn’t really feel free in front of the camera; I had to stand still and occasionally look left or right, whereas I preferred doing something playful.”
When she started photographing herself, she decided to do things differently: her sets had to become places where freedom is possible. But that freedom does not arise from chaos, she emphasizes. “The balance between control and letting go is the secret to strong artistic direction. My sets are always carefully prepared: all the logistics are correct, nothing is missing. That structure actually creates freedom.” According to her, it is the energy on set—the location, the people, the music—that truly brings the image to life. “My inspiration arises in the moment. The most important thing is that the talent feels completely comfortable, so that their enjoyment emerges naturally and spontaneously.” That vision still fuels her approach: models must express themselves, have fun, and dare to experiment, within a carefully directed context.
Her breakthrough came with the discovery of Claudia Schiffer, then a 17-year-old girl with a stunning resemblance to Brigitte Bardot. Von Unwerth recognized something special and created an iconic look that immediately put Schiffer on the map. The success of those images has remained palpable for decades. “It is incredible that young people still say they like those photos. It remains remarkable that images continue to influence and inspire people.” What distinguishes Von Unwerth is her ability to tell stories through photography. To her, models posing in beautiful dresses are merely superficial images. “Maybe a beautiful photo, but then you turn the page and you’ve forgotten it. A good photo comes back to me: you want to see it again and again, understand it, and absorb it.” Her ideas are often inspired by films and actresses from the fifties and sixties – Brigitte Bardot, Sophia Loren, Italian cinema. “Those women were filmed so beautifully. Even in misery, those women looked beautiful. That inspired me: showing women in all kinds of situations and always letting them be beautiful.” Vulnerability plays a key role in this. “It starts with music and with the energy I bring to set myself. I create a space where talent feels relaxed, safe, and free—free enough to show something intimate and real. I want them to dare to share their most beautiful secrets.” As a woman, she often feels a natural complicity with her models more quickly. “That sense of trust makes it easier to let vulnerability emerge naturally.”
Her photography breathes performance, something that harks back to her youthful fascination with circus and theater. From the age of eighteen, she worked for three years as an assistant at Circus Roncalli in Munich, where she learned to improvise, perform, and have fun on stage. “In the circus, illusion and freedom reign. It is a dream world where acrobats fly through the air. Here you escape the reality of the world for a moment.” That energy is reflected in her photo sets: slightly messy, a touch mysterious, always with a hint of glitter and glamour.
Von Unwerth is often described as a 'sexy' photographer, but rarely as political. She herself does not view her work as explicitly activist. “My photography contains no direct political message. I make no distinction: I photograph women as long as they inspire me.” Yet her work certainly speaks about emancipation. “It is about helping women love themselves. About showing that beauty lives in imperfection, joy, and spontaneity.” She photographed Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss playing and laughing in the bath, Madonna with her mouth full of cake, and models letting themselves go completely – throwing spaghetti on each other’s chests, laughing, experimenting. Iconic images that show how femininity, humor, and autonomy can go hand in hand. The best photos are often created at the moment everyone thinks the shoot is over. “Often, a good photo ends up being a 'mistake,' because you press the shutter one more time when it was actually already over. The most important thing is always that the image tells a story.” Who else would she have liked to photograph? Marilyn Monroe! She was my dream. Vulnerability, sexuality, strength: she embodied everything.
With a camera, I switch on my photographic eye. I become a kind of sniper, always looking for moments I want to capture.
In an era where fashion and visual culture are becoming increasingly fast-paced and digital, freedom sometimes comes under pressure. “We have to be more careful today about what we show. Platforms like Instagram censor nipples, and there is growing prudishness.” Yet she refuses to be restricted. “Honestly? I still feel free. And I have no intention of giving in to that pressure. In my heart, I am a badass girlAt the same time, she remains critical of the changes in the industry. “In the past, images were mainly created for magazines. There were huge budgets – if I wanted an elephant, it was there the next day. Nowadays, almost everything is content for Instagram and everything has to be faster and faster.” AI will change a lot,” she acknowledges, “but there must always be a human behind the image.”
Beyond photography, Von Unwerth is a versatile creative: she paints, illustrates, directs, and even founded her own magazine. Yet the camera remains her most direct expression of art and personality. “With a camera, I switch on my photographic eye. I become a kind of sniper, always looking for moments I want to capture.” Ellen von Unwerth is more than a photographer; she is a storyteller, a choreographer of personality, an artist who celebrates femininity and captures joy at a glance. Her career proves that instinct, daring, and love for the craft are more important than titles or education. And if you ask her what she would do differently if she were to start over today, without a name but with the same instinct, she answers without hesitation: “I would do everything exactly the same.”
Ellen von Unwerth at the Photo Museum on the Vrijthof
The Fotomuseum aan het Vrijthof is showing the exhibition until 13 September 2026. My Circus by Ellen von Unwerth. The exhibition features 160 iconic photographs in which femininity, playfulness, eroticism, and fashion converge, created for fashion brands, magazines, her own VON magazine, and books. Visitors will see, among others, photos of supermodel Claudia Schiffer, which marked Von Unwerth's early breakthrough, and colorful and black-and-white portraits of Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Heidi Klum, Kate Moss, RuPaul, Beyoncé, Madonna, Miley Cyrus, and Rihanna. The circus – Von Unwerth worked for three years at Circus Roncalli in Munich – forms the common thread of the exhibition. The dynamic, theatrical, and colorful character of her photographs reflects her lifelong fascination with this world. After ten years as a model, Von Unwerth has been behind the camera for forty years. Her cinematic, provocative work combines playfulness, sensuality, and humor, capturing the power and personality of women in a distinctive way.
